TV chef, Troy native Art Ginsburg -- Mr. Food -- dies at 81

In this photo from May 17, 2011, Art Ginsburg, better known as "Mr. Food," shares a moment with Phyllis Sandow, executive director of Hope 7 Community Center, during the organization's Taste of Troy fundraiser at the Franklin Terrace Ballroom. (J.S. Carras/The Record)

Troy's most famous cook, Art Ginsburg, the delightfully dorky television chef known as Mr. Food, died at his home in Weston, Fla., Wednesday following a struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81.

Ginsburg -- who enticed viewers for decades with a can-do focus on easy weeknight cooking and the tagline "Ooh! It's so good!" -- was diagnosed just over a year ago. The cancer had gone into remission following early treatments and surgery, but returned earlier this month.

Ginsburg had an unlikely formula for success in this era of reality cooking shows, flashy chefs and artisanal foods. With a pleasantly goofy, grandfatherly manner and a willingness to embrace processed foods, Ginsburg endeared himself to millions of home cooks via 90-second segments, which were videotaped at WRGB's studios in Niskayuna for years, aired during its News Center 6 evening broadcasts and syndicated to 125 local television stations around the country.

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And though he published 52 Mr. Food-related cookbooks, selling more than 8 million copies, he was little known to the nation's foodies and mostly ignored by the glossy magazines. That was the way he liked it.

"I'm the down-home cook. I like to make things fancy without cooking fancy," he said in a Nov. 1985 interview with The Record.

Ginsburg grew up in the meat business and later took over the butcher shop his parents owned on River Street in Troy, the place where he "...acquired base knowledge about produce, growing seasons, problems of dairy famers and so on."

He eventually started and ran his own catering company, before disbanding it in late 1985 because "[t]he television project has grown so big we no longer have time to balance the two."

Ginsburg made his television debut in the late 1970s, making regular appearances on "Coffee Break," a talk show co-hosted by Mimi Scott and aired by the former WAST-TV in Menands.

Previously, Ginsburg, who acted in community theatre productions in the early 1970s, appeared in several commercials for Central Markets, Price Chopper's predecessor.

By 1980, his Mr. Food vignettes were syndicated in nine television markets.

The recipes featured in his 90-second segments were tested and optimized in the industrial-sized kitchen located in the basement of his Sycaway home.

His popularity peaked in 2007, when he was appearing on 168 stations.

He also was generous with the enviably broad reach of his culinary pulpit, frequently inviting up-and-coming celebrities to do guest appearances with him.

"Art Ginsberg was a warm, gregarious man who knew food is more about love and sharing than a fancy ingredient list," said Glens Falls native Rachael Ray, who Ginsburg invited on air long before she was a huge celebrity. "He was a supportive and loyal friend and I'll miss his smile and warm hugs. This Thanksgiving I'm thankful I knew him."

Closer to home, Ginsburg was known for assisting with local fundraisers, including The Record's Clothe-

A-Child campaign, donating a portion of the proceeds from his "Mr. Food Cooks Like Mama" cookbook to the organization.

In recent years, Ginsburg eased his involvement in the day-to-day operations of the company he founded, Ginsburg Enterprises Incorporated, which produces the television segments and oversees his many other ventures. The company also produced television segments that did not star Ginsburg, billing them as the "Mr. Food Test Kitchen." It plans to continue producing and syndicating those segments.